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The number of deaths caused due to heart disease is on the rise. As you get older, your likelihood of suffering from heart disease increases. The kind of lifestyle choices that you make can cause damage to your heart. If you eat a poor diet, smoke cigarettes, drink too much alcohol or are overweight, then you are more likely to suffer from heart disease.

Primary Causes of Heart Disease

Heart disease occurs when there are blockages in arteries that are responsible for providing your heart with oxygen and essential nutrition. The width of the arteries gets reduced due to a condition called atherosclerosis in which fatty deposits get collected within the artery wall. This makes it very difficult for blood to pump through the heart, thereby depriving it of oxygen and essential nutrition.

Due to the buildup of cholesterol caused by this condition, the cell waste and other substances that are present insides the walls develop plaques. This blocks the absorption of much needed nutrients by the artery walls, which in turn leads to high blood pressure and also increases the risk of developing blood clots and suffering from heart attack.

Symptoms of Heart Disease

A common symptom of heart disease is suddenly feeling out of breath. Other symptoms include a sudden increase in your heart rate, fluid retention, fainting, and unusual tiredness. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should consult your doctor as soon as you can. The more symptoms you experience, the higher are the risk factors. People who are overweight, smoke, drink too much alcohol, eat a poor diet and live a sedentary lifestyle should be extra careful and alert about these symptoms.

The symptoms that indicate the onset of a heart attack usually include breathlessness, sweating, nausea, light-headedness, stomach ache, pain or a feeling of heaviness on the chest, and heartburn.

Tips to Maintain a Healthy Heart

Although heart disease cannot be cured, you can follow certain steps to maintain a healthy heart. You can maintain the health of your cardiovascular system by maintaining normal levels of cholesterol and blood pressure.

The best and simplest way to reduce the risk of heart disease is to make healthy lifestyle choices. If you are smoker, then it is necessary to quit smoking. If you are overweight, you need to exercise and go on a healthy diet to lose weight. It is also necessary to have control over the amount of alcohol that you drink.

Making sure that you provide your body with all the nutrients that it needs is also a good way to maintain a healthy heart. A diet rich in fiber and consisting of a lot of fruits and vegetables can do a world of good for your heart health. To maintain healthy cholesterol levels, you should cook your food in unsaturated fats and also limit your consumption of added salt. It is also important to avoid foods that are high in saturated fats.

Too much stress for a prolonged period of time can have negative effects on your heart. It is very difficult to avoid stress in this competitive world, but you can control it by meditating, practicing yoga and getting adequate rest and sleep.

If you are older than the age of forty, then you should stay in touch with your doctor and have regular check-ups. By taking these simple steps, you can significantly reduce your risk of suffering from heart disease.